British Minister Concerned at Ronaldo, Kaka Price

Sport
ENGLISH clubs should not try and compete with Real Madrid’s incredible spending frenzy, Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said yesterday.

ENGLISH clubs should not try and compete with Real Madrid’s incredible spending frenzy, Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said yesterday.

Real had a world record £80 million-pounds offer for Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo accepted yesterday having already splashed out around £60 million on AC Milan’s Brazilian playmaker Kaka this week.

Sutcliffe, a Manchester United fan, said the kind of money Real Madrid are spending was not sustainable and said he has written to the Premier League and the Football Association expressing his concerns for the English game.

“We saw Real spend £59 million on Kaka from Milan just recently and that’s why we have written to the Premier League and the FA,” Sutcliffe told the BBC.

“We are concerned about the sustainability of the game. They are big businesses and this type of money is around but we must make sure there is a link and that it’s sustainable because we don’t want to see clubs go to the wall.”

Sutcliffe praised the success of the Premier League, but said there were areas of concern over the management of clubs and the influx of foreign players.

“There are several issues around the management of clubs and the transparency of clubs, home-grown players and a number of things we want to see the game sustain right the way through,” Sutcliffe said.

“We have the most successful league in the world in the Premier League, long may that continue, but we have got to make sure that the grassroots of the game are protected and its sustainable right through our league system.”

Sutcliffe said Ronaldo’s proposed move to Real would be good business for United, who spent only £12 million to sign him from Sporting in 2003, but said they should not always be looking abroad for replacements.

“There is not one player bigger than the club and the club comes first and that’s clearly what has been decided,” he said. – Reuters.

Â